The Rank Write Roundtable features expert answers to your questions about successful online writing and high search engine rankings. Discussion topics include:

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InSite Select Pay-for-Inclusion Program from Lycos
By Jill Whalen - February 28, 2002
With the 48-hour spidering, it will be easy to see what works and what doesn't as far as your search engine optimization goes.

Google Launches New Pay Per Click Ads Program
By Jill Whalen - February 21, 2002
Looks like Google is going to give Overture a run for their money with pay-per-click (PPC) ads, folks! Google's new "AdWords Select" program gives advertisers the opportunity to pay for their ads on a click-through basis, as opposed to an impression basis.

Front-End Keyphrase Education Avoids Back-End Irritation
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - February 21, 2002
Even if you're dealing with a high level, experienced marketing department, SEO writing may be an entirely new game.

Is Search Engine Optimization a Dying Art?
By Jill Whalen - February 15, 2002
I've been reading for a while now that search engine optimization has been dying a slow death. However, I'm not ready to nail the coffin shut, not by a long shot.

How does Direct Hit work?
By Jill Whalen - February 14, 2002
What the Direct Hit technology does is look at how many times sites are clicked on within the results and ranks them accordingly. If any given site is clicked on enough, it gets put into the top ten "popular" sites.

Impact of Changing Domain Names on Search Engine Optimization
By Jill Whalen - February 08, 2002
There's absolutely no penalty having two domains pointing to the same IP as long as you're not trying to gain *extra* rankings with the various domains.

What to do With Those Pesky Keyword Misspellings
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - February 07, 2002
It's clear that very many searches are misspelled and ungrammatical. For a competitive search term, how do you suggest optimising without using the misspelled word in the page copy?

Will An SEO Campaign Convert Prospects Into Customers?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - February 04, 2002
Just because you have a number one ranking, doesn't mean your sales will skyrocket. In fact, your site's copy, design and usability are what make prospects transform into clients.

Money-Grubbing Directories: What's a Small Biz to Do?
By Jill Whalen - January 31, 2002
We can hate it, we can gripe about it, we moan for the "good old days," but the simple truth of the matter is that the free ride is over. Your growing business needs to pay for the bare necessities in order to grow and become viable.

Information on Fast Search & Transfer ASA (FAST)
By Jill Whalen - January 25, 2002
Today I have a special treat for our European readers. I've got some late-breaking information about the Fast Search Engine that is based in Norway. This information should also be useful to our U.S. readers because FAST also powers the Lycos search engine.

Four Common SEO Writing Mistakes to Avoid
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - January 24, 2002
Before you hire a firm - or take the gig in-house - beware of these common SEO writing mistakes. If you do, you'll increase your high-ranking chances and enjoy strong text your prospects will love.

Get the Most out of Your Keyphrases
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - January 18, 2002
If you want to rank well with the search engines, you have to focus, focus, focus. This means that it's not okay to list every single keyphrase you have on your home page and figure that you covered your bases.

Google's Fresh Label and Yahoo! Updates
By Jill Whalen - January 17, 2002
Things sure do happen fast in the world of search engines and directories. Google's fresh label is now gone and maybe things are starting to change for the better over at Yahoo!.

Meta Tags, Submission and Resubmission
By Jill Whalen - January 11, 2002
The age-old commas and spaces Meta tag debate. Plus, how many URLs can you submit a day? Also, comments on frequent submitting and resubmitting.

Heather's Heated Flash Debate
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - January 10, 2002
If you can keep your ultimate goal in mind (pleasing the spiders while wowing your prospects), you can still create sites with Flash components, convert prospects, and get the rankings you want.

The Death of the Yahoo Directory? I Doubt It.
By Jill Whalen - January 03, 2002
While most of us were enjoying the holidays with family and friends, the folks at Yahoo were busy quietly instituting a new fee structure for their Yahoo! Express site-listing program.

Developing a Successful Link-Building Campaign
By Debra Mastaler - December 13, 2001
Trading links is a powerful promotional strategy used to drive qualified traffic and improve link popularity.

Design Guidelines for Search Engine Friendly Sites
By Jill Whalen - November 30, 2001
When building a new site from scratch, there are many considerations to take into account to ensure that it's built in a way that's search engine spider friendly.

Will Too Much Information Result In Lost Business?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - November 29, 2001
It is entirely possible to read the Rank Write archives, learn the skills and perform an in-house search engine marketing campaign. Have we lost business because we give away our "trade secrets?" Not really.

Google PageRank Explained
By Jill Whalen - November 23, 2001
A summary of what Google PageRank is, how it is determined, and how significant it is to high rankings in the search engine results pages.

SEO Case Study Part 4: Copywriting Nitty-Gritty
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - November 23, 2001
In this, the final part of our case study, I'll discuss the copywriting nitty-gritty, and evaluate the copywriting and total marketing message of our case study.

Is SEO Necessary for Local Sites Seeking Local Customers?
By Jill Whalen - November 09, 2001
Local businesses that do have a Web presence and can also be easily found in the search engines, definitely have the jump on their competition.

SEO Case Study - Part 3: Headline Power
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - November 08, 2001
Headlines are crucially important for the search engines. But what about your prospects? Will they care?

Search Engine Optimization Case Study - Part 2
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - November 02, 2001
Last week, Jill recommended specific SEO tweaks. This week, I'll evaluate the web site's SEO writing, and discuss what can be done to make the search engines smile.

Invisible Text? I Don't Think So.
By Jill Whalen - November 01, 2001
From the search engines' perspective, they've always denounced invisible text on the page. After all, if it's not important enough for your visitors to read, then why should the search engines consider it important?

Search Engine Optimization Case Study
By Jill Whalen - October 26, 2001
Many of you have emailed us over the past few months and requested some real life examples and search engine optimization case studies. You ask, and we deliver!

To Quote Or Not To Quote, That's The Question
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - October 25, 2001
I get a higher ranking for my site when I search using my keyphrase in quotes. I would much rather have our customers find us without quotes. What am I doing wrong?

When Good Companies Provide Bad SEO Information
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - October 19, 2001
Whom can you trust? Here are some things you can do to protect yourself and get the best possible SEO firm for the buck.

Yahoo's Changes - Winners and Losers
By Jill Whalen - October 18, 2001
If you already have a site listed in Yahoo, their new way of displaying sites may help your site be found more easily. On the other hand, it may also hurt.

Header Tag Options for Search Engine Optimization
By Jill Whalen - October 12, 2001
I know that putting a keyphrase in H1 format within the body of a web page can influence how well a page is ranked. But, does it make any difference if the text is H1, and is then reduced to a smaller size?

Keyphrase Formula?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - October 11, 2001
You needn't worry about a formula such as having X keyphrase in Y paragraph Z times. Rather than ponder what keyphrase goes where, consider placing your keyphrases where they have the most impact for your marketing message.

What Do Users Want?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - October 05, 2001
Is your site converting customers, ranking well on the search engines, and offering the information your prospects need?

What Are Realistic SEO Expectations?
By Jill Whalen - October 04, 2001
Is it the search engine optimization company's job to increase their client's sales? What about increasing their traffic? Is that their job? Or is it simply to get the client's site ranking high for certain keyphrases?

Link Popularity and PageRank
By Jill Whalen - September 28, 2001
In order to keep up with the ever-changing world of search engine optimization, I've been studying link popularity lately, and will be happy to share what I've learned with everyone.

Separate Copy for Each Search Engine?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - September 27, 2001
You don't need to create separate pages for each search engine. In fact, one of the huge benefits of search engine optimization writing is that you can write one content and keyphrase-rich home page (or inner page), send it off for coding and submission, and poof, you're done.

Unethical Search Engine Optimization Methods
By Jill Whalen - September 21, 2001
I think most of our readers know my stance on unethical search engine optimization methods. They're bad...if you use them, go sit in the corner!

Your Copywriter Just Isn't Getting the SEO Writing Thang
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - September 20, 2001
Although I think SEO writing is a piece of cake, other folks don't find it quite as easy. So, here are my recommendations for transforming a non-SEO writer into a search engine-writing expert!

Experiences With LookSmart's Non-Commercial Zeal Directory
By Jill Whalen - September 07, 2001
Sites added through Zeal become seamlessly integrated into the LookSmart results with no way of knowing (that I can tell) that they were added through Zeal and not LookSmart.

Domain Name Considerations and Spelling Variations
By Jill Whalen - August 31, 2001
Where the search engines are concerned, it is my opinion that the domain name is not as important as one might think.

Is Content Really King?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - August 30, 2001
Well, as far as the search engines are concerned, content IS king. That is, if someone craves a visually compelling splash page with no text in sight, the search engines won't read it. In fact, they can't.

Geographically Specific Search Engine Optimization
By Jill Whalen and Heather Lloyd-Martin - August 24, 2001
Getting listed in the results of the major search engines when people look for information related to a specific area.

LookSmart Not A Necessity
By Jill Whalen - August 10, 2001
I don't personally believe that being in LookSmart is a necessity right now, but I am not prepared to say that you should not submit to them if you can afford it.

Competing In An Industry That Pays A Fortune For Rankings
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - August 09, 2001
Just because you're in a more competitive market doesn't mean you'll never get a top ranking. What it does mean is you'll have to try harder and think creatively.

It's Not About Submitting Keywords To Search Engines
By Jill Whalen - August 03, 2001
Optimizing is not about submitting or buying keywords...it's about fixing and tweaking stuff.

Home Page Word Count - How Much Is Too Much?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - August 02, 2001
Longer copy CAN work, if it's structured properly. If your message is persuasive, the layout is good, and the text is snappy, people will read longer copy and still buy from you. In fact, the best length for the search engines is around 250 words (or more!).

Optimizing Without Losing Current Rankings
By Jill Whalen - July 27, 2001
What approach should be taken to improve rankings in other search engines without jeopardizing current high rankings in Google?

Move the Logo and Grab Prospects with Strong Headlines
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - July 26, 2001
Why not replace the logo with a strong keyphrase and benefit-rich headline? That would draw people into the articles faster, plus give the search engines something to chew on.

Search Engine Optimization Is Too Expensive and Doesn't Work!
By Jill Whalen and Heather Lloyd-Martin - July 19, 2001
What you're suggesting is almost unattainable for most medium websites.

Image Links, Absolute Links, and Site Redesign
By Jill Whalen - July 13, 2001
Do search engines following links that are in images? Are absolute links better than relative links? Keeping your high rankings when redesigning your site.

Does My Headline Have To Be Text? Can It Be An Image?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - July 12, 2001
Your SEO campaign isn't doomed if you don't use every tried-and-true technique. It just means that you're not doing everything you can - and your rankings may suffer the consequences.

AltaVista's New Express Inclusion Program
By Jill Whalen - June 29, 2001
Since this is hot off the presses, on-topic, and someone from AV actually called to give me the details of the program, I figured I'd let you guys in on the scoop.

Brevity In Copy Versus SEO Rich Text
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - June 28, 2001
For maximum effectiveness, we've found that the ideal copy length is around 250 words. Do clients freak heavily when we tell them this? You betcha.

SEO Questions and Answers
By Jill Whalen - June 22, 2001
Tables and page rank. Meta keywords. The impact of SEO on a company's bottom line.

Order of Keywords In A Keyphrase
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - June 21, 2001
When you're writing your copy the keyphrases have to be in a particular order. The search engines won't piece your keywords back together into the wonderful keyphrase you had.

Singular and Plural Variations of Keyphrases
By Jill Whalen - June 15, 2001
Just because an engine can find the plural when a singular form (or vice versa) is typed in the search box, it doesn't mean that it will find it, or will find it first.

Why Not Just Tack On A Few Keyphrases?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - June 14, 2001
Ya think the search engines are going to change their OWN process just to include your little ol' site? No way, no how. If you want to play with the search engines, you have to play by their rules.

Clueless Web Designers and Search Engine Optimization
By Jill Whalen - June 08, 2001
Just because a company is great at Web site design, does not make them experts at search engine optimization. In fact, in many cases, just the opposite is true.

Optimizing for Keywords With Multiple Spelling Variations
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - June 07, 2001
If you include different spelling variations of the same keyphrase - and you plunk every variation on your home page - your keyphrases will stand out like a sore thumb.

Learning Search Engine Optimization from Scratch
By Jill Whalen - May 31, 2001
If you were to coach a beginner, what are the steps you would give them to follow so that they too could become adroit at SEO?

Is Alt Text A Good SEO Alternative To HTML Text?
By Jill Whalen - May 25, 2001
If search engines are reading these things, then why not use them instead of real, visible text on the page?

Search Engine Optimization Writing Frustrations
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - May 24, 2001
You've grunted and slaved over finding "just the right word," only to discover the client changed darn near everything. Against any advice you gave them.

Should I Outsource An SEO Campaign Or Not?
By Jill Whalen - May 17, 2001
I am emphasizing Search Engine Optimization as a priority in my company. Now I want to make sure that I make the right decisions in beginning an SEO campaign.

Ranking Placement of Keyphrases In Order of Importance
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - May 10, 2001
All SEO writing techniques provide a cumulative effect. Why go halfway when, with a little extra effort, you'll know you're covered on all counts?

Does Eliminating WWW In A URL Impact Search Engine Optimization?
By Jill Whalen - May 04, 2001
The spidering search engines have no problems with these types of URLs. I've never heard of any problems with not having www in the URL, so I wouldn't worry about that aspect.

Can Press Releases Be Optimized for Search Engines?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - May 03, 2001
A resounding yes. Press releases are great search engine fodder.

Q&A: Submitting To Search Engines
By Jill Whalen - April 27, 2001
Questions and answers regarding the process of submitting to search engines and directories.

Do Search Engines Require A Home Page?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - April 26, 2001
As long as all your pages are linked together by common navigation, the search engines won't consider it spam. However, the directories will care, and if you want to get listed, you'll build a home page.

Optimizing Regional Portals for Search Engines
By Jill Whalen - April 20, 2001
How do portal operators write good copy that also reflects their keywords?

Feed the Spiders and Tell Your Prospects How You Can Benefit Them
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - April 19, 2001
When those spiders come a-crawlin' they need to find the tasty tidbits they crave (which is keyphrase-rich text).

The Daunting Task of Registering A Site With The Search Engines
By Jill Whalen - April 13, 2001
Any suggestions for how smaller companies can realistically and proactively optimize their placements?

Optimization for Small Businesses With Limited Budgets
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - April 12, 2001
If a prospect understands the value of what you're offering, they're more apt to change their preconceived ideas of how much your services will cost.

Question Marks, Equal Signs, and Other Strange Characters
By Jill Whalen - April 05, 2001
There are many options out there that allow you to change your URL formatting to one that can be spidered by the search engines.

Tips For Starting A Search Engine Optimization Service
By Jill Whalen and Heather Lloyd-Martin - March 29, 2001
Plan on entering the SEO field? Learn the basics of what you will need to get started.

Confessions of A Pay Per Click Search Addict
By Jill Whalen - March 16, 2001
I am convinced that nearly any site can benefit from an optimization, and would never recommend a pay per click campaign without an optimization to go with it.

Feed the Spiders General or Specific Info?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - March 15, 2001
You'll need some good, static, keyphrase-rich text *at the top* of your home page to keep those spiders happy.

Highly Focused Keyphrases for Niche Sites
By Jill Whalen - March 09, 2001
The good news is it's much easier to optimize for those kinds of keywords, because they're not as competitive as others might be.

Developing Unique Content Around Popular Keyphrases
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - March 08, 2001
Probably the best way to create unique content is simply by understanding your audience's needs, and pretending like you're "talking" to just one person.

Poor HTML Coding Means Search Engine Unfriendly Sites
By Jill Whalen - March 02, 2001
Proper Web site design is absolutely crucial to getting high rankings in the search engines.

Spammy Copy: Keyword Variations and Repetition
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - March 01, 2001
The search engines, and the folks who run them, are not stupid. If you spam the engines within either the coding or the body text, you will most likely get caught.

Do Big Companies Have A Ranking Advantage?
By Jill Whalen - February 23, 2001
What's the point in optimizing your site for high rankings, if someone like Sony can come in and do nothing, but still be number one in the rankings?

Search Engine Optimization Politics
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - February 22, 2001
A classic case of a client hiring an expert, and then thinking they know better.

Why Give A Hoot About Targeted Keyphrases, Anyway?
By Jill Whalen and Heather Lloyd-Martin - February 15, 2001
Discussing targeted keyphrases from a search engine writing and marketing perspective.

Pay Search Engines for Placement?
By Jill Whalen - February 09, 2001
There are a number of ways that the search engines and directories are collecting funds from people trying to get their Web sites to rank higher. However...

Web Position Gold And Keyphrase Density
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - February 08, 2001
When you're constantly measuring your keyphrase density, then it's VERY easy to ignore the marketing aspect of your writing.

Choosing A Reputable Optimization Service
By Jill Whalen - February 01, 2001
In order to avoid being scammed by so called SEO experts, here are a few tips.

Should Contextual Links Be On Verbs Rather Than Nouns?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - January 19, 2001
In our experience, we've found that making the keyphrase a link to an inner page is very effective with the search engines.

Directory Rank and Google Listings At Yahoo!
By Jill Whalen - January 18, 2001
Yes, there is a ranking system in directories. Being listed on the "Web Page" results at Yahoo! most definitely does NOT mean you've been added to Yahoo!'s directory.

What Happens To The Regular Corporate Copywriter?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - January 12, 2001
The truth is, "regular" copywriting is NOT the same as search engine optimization writing.

Adding Domain Names for More Traffic
By Jill Whalen - January 11, 2001
Some will try this option thinking they can use the additional domains to get extra listings in the human-edited directories such as Yahoo! or DMOZ.

Checking Text for Optimization
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - January 05, 2001
If you didn't originally write your text with keyphrases in mind, it won't be effective with the search engines.

Boosting Search Engine Rank With Link Popularity
By Jill Whalen - January 04, 2001
Unrelated links to your site are only minimally helpful to high rankings. What DOES seem to boost rankings in many search engines is having a good ranking in the major directories.

Can A Single Page Rank Well For 4 Keyword Phrases?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - December 29, 2000
Most of the time, I can successfully write for three keyphrases and still keep a marketing flow - but four gets tricky.

Are One Page Sites Optimizable?
By Jill Whalen - December 28, 2000
Long, scrolling text that is simply direct marketing copy, without a specific keyword focus, probably won't do very well in the search engine rankings.

Do JavaScripts At The Top Of The Page Impede Indexing?
By Jill Whalen - December 21, 2000
If the script doesn't have to be at the top, and can easily be moved to the bottom, you might as well move it.

Is Search Engine Optimization Worth It?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - December 15, 2000
Like a fine wine, good optimization means your rankings will get better over time. Your hits will increase, and your ROI will increase.

Submitting B2B Sites To LookSmart
By Jill Whalen - December 14, 2000
They don't give a hoot about your rankings, or if you can be found. They DO care that their directory has good sites in it that will be helpful to their visitors.

Optimizing the Home Page
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - December 08, 2000
The challenge you face is you need to give your optimized home page rankings enough opportunity to build in the search engines.

Referring to Meta Tags, How Much Is Too Much?
By Jill Whalen - December 07, 2000
The problem with Meta tag analyzers is that all they can do is look at tag length and the like. This really doesn't tell you anything.

Changing ODP Listings
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - December 01, 2000
What good is changing and updating content if a site is going to remain stable in the ODP?

Directory and Search Engine Submissions Are Totally Different
By Jill Whalen - November 30, 2000
Directory Titles and the Title in your HTML code of your page DO NOT need to match, and in most cases, should NOT match. Two different animals, yet both equally important for high rankings.

Carefully Consider Whether To Add Additional Keyphrases
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - November 24, 2000
After about three keyphrases, it's very difficult to include additional keyphrases and still keep your writing persuasive and powerful.

How Much Traffic Is Generated by a Yahoo! Listing?
By Jill Whalen - November 23, 2000
The amount of traffic depends on a variety of factors, such as how large the site it is, and what keywords the listing is ranking high for.

What If Your Client Wants Flash AND Good Rankings?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - November 17, 2000
When you can explain the benefits of keyphrase-rich marketing text compared to a pretty site that doesn't do squat long-term in the engines, most clients will opt for text.

Marketing Shouldn't Stop With Search Engine Optimization
By Jill Whalen - November 16, 2000
It's important not to put all of your marketing into search engine optimization attempts alone.

Do Inner Pages Need Optimizing?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - November 03, 2000
A huge benefit resulting from optimizing your inner pages is that this method allows you to create virtual doorway pages for every important page on your site.

Crafting Descriptions for Yahoo! Listings
By Jill Whalen - November 02, 2000
The trickiest part of submitting to directories is what to use for your description. If you give an editor the slightest reason to modify your description, there's a good chance you'll be sunk.

Optimization Questions: Keywords, Free Hosts, & Links
By Jill Whalen - October 26, 2000
Three search engine optimization questions this week regarding keyword frequency, free hosting services, and external links.

Rejected for Too Many Super Duper Pooper Scoopers?!
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - October 20, 2000
It's hard to concentrate on "keyphrase density" when five different gurus are recommending five different methods.

2 or 3 Word Phrases? Commas, or Not?
By Jill Whalen - October 19, 2000
When optimizing, is a two word phrase better than a three word phrase? Should commas be used in the meta keword tag?

No Meta Tags A Secret Guru Thing?
By Jill Whalen - October 12, 2000
I've often said that if you have good text, you *almost* don't have to worry about your tags, and now I have proof!

Increase Your Word Count for More Keyphrases
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - October 6, 2000
If you limit yourself to 75 words on your home page, how are you going to write for all those keyphrases and still create a strong marketing pitch?

One Yahoo! Listing? Don't Try for Two
By Jill Whalen - October 5, 2000
Where Yahoo! is concerned, if you have a listing that gets traffic, you're probably better off to leave well enough alone. Submitting an additional sub-page could cause problems.

Rewrite or Plug In Keyphrases to Optimize?
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - September 29, 2000
If you want strong rankings AND to convert your prospects into buyers, your best bet is to optimize your text right the first time.

Continually Re-submit to Search Engines? Bad Idea!
By Jill Whalen - September 28, 2000
Whoever told you that you must constantly resubmit your site monthly in order to rank high, deserves to be put out in the stocks for a public flogging!

Problems With Having A Graphics-Heavy Site
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - September 22, 2000
How I can get high rankings on search engines with a mainly graphic site with very little text?

Impact of External Links on Google Ranking
By Jill Whalen - September 21, 2000
Google does look at what other quality sites are linking to yours, but this is only one small factor in how it determines the ranking of any given site.

I Don't Care About Keyphrase Density!
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - September 15, 2000
If your keyphrases are related to your content, getting strong keyword density happens naturally.

Ranking With Subdomains and Subdirectories
By Jill Whalen - September 14, 2000
You should be able to see high rankings in subdomains or subdirectories if proper optimization strategies are in place.

Optimizing? Trash the Flash!
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - September 08, 2000
Search engines rely on visible, html body text for their ranking determinations - and your home page is the most crucial page to optimize.

Search Engines and Server Side Includes
By Jill Whalen - September 07, 2000
What impact will using server side includes have on getting a site listed properly?

Forget KeyWORDS, Optimize for KeyPHRASES
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - September 01, 2000
Eliminate any notion that you're going to rank high for a single keyWORD. It's just not going to happen.

If everyone is optimizing their sites, what's the point?
By Jill Whalen - August 31, 2000
If everyone is changing their keywords, meta tags, alt tags, and comment tags - at what point will this not matter?

Insight On Getting Listed In Yahoo!
By Jill Whalen - August 24, 2000
Yahoo! is an extremely valuable place to be listed. The problem is, it can definitely be a tough nut to crack.

Meta Tag and Body Text Keywords Working Together
By Heather Lloyd-Martin and Jill Whalen - August 17, 2000
Meta tag and copy text keywords need to work in conjunction for effective site ranking.

Writing Keyword-Rich Content
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - August 11, 2000
The tricky thing about strong search engine optimization writing is that you're serving two masters - the search engines and your audience.

Optimizing Sites for the Open Directory Project
By Jill Whalen - August 10, 2000
Understanding how to handle optimization for the ODP is especially important considering the number of search engines using its database.

Time-Sensitive Content and Search Engines
By Heather Lloyd-Martin - August 04, 2000
How to handle the problem of getting time-sensitive content indexed regularly by the search engines.

Getting Dynamically Generated Websites Indexed
By Jill Whalen - August 03, 2000
It is true that it is very difficult, if not impossible to get some dynamically generated websites indexed by the major search engines.

Preventing Spiders from Indexing Pages
By Jill Whalen - July 27, 2000
Methods for preventing search engines from indexing specific pages.

Getting Your Framed Site Listed With Search Engines
By Jill Whalen
Everyone has read a million times how you can't get a framed site listed in the search engines. Once again, Jill explains why you shouldn't believe everything you read!

The Myth of Gateway Pages
By Jill Whalen
From what we hear about Gateway and Doorway pages, you would think these were the best and only way to get a high ranking. Don't be so sure!

The Meta Keyword Tag
By Jill Whalen
Have you obsessed over the meta keyword tag? Worry no longer!

Get It in Your <Head>: The Meta Description Tag
By Jill Whalen
The words placed within the Meta Description tag appear under the title in a search engine's list of results, so it's important to create this right.

All About Title Tags
By Jill Whalen
In this article we'll drill into one of the most important factors in achieving high search engine rankings, the title tag.

Plant Your Site at the Top of Mt. Search Engine
By Jill Whalen
Top level listings are absolutely critical for the success of your Web business. You can get the results you need if you follow a few basic fundamentals.